A planned £100m extension to the Dublin hotel co-owned by Bono and The Edge from rock band U2 is under threat because of concerns about local heritage.
Plans to add 140 extra rooms to the 50 bedroom Clarence hotel, and build a glass roof in the shape of a Viking long boat, have provoked controversy from local heritage groups and Michael Smith, the former chairman of An Taisce.
In a letter to the magazine Building Design, Smith accused the musicians of having a “fetish for glamour”, adding: “The days of grateful fawnings over international – or in this case intergalactic – architecture on Dublin’s landmark sites should be over.”
Plans to extend the hotel involve the purchase of the five properties neighbouring the hotel and could result in the demolition of buildings in the historic Temple Bar district.
The new nine-storey complex would be topped by a glazed bar with a 360 degree panaromic view of Dublin, and would make it the biggest hotel in the city.
The musicians own the hotel in conjunction with Dublin property developer Harry Crosbie, who headed the £500m Point Village based at the city docklands.
Dublin City Council’s planning department has put the planning application on hold until September, while the owners respond to local concerns.
The Clarence hotel was bought by U2 in 1992, but the other band members later sold their stake.
The hotel is understood to have made a loss of €12m (£8m).
